Process for the production of reactions in gases in closed systems.



JEN LASESEN LA COUB, OF CHRISTIANIA', llGl-sitli-kif,

KVAELSTOFAKTIESELSHAB, 6F Ci;

PRGCESS TOE THE PRODUCTION OF REAfiTZQNS IN GELSED 123' 333532 310 SYSTEMS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JENs Lassen LA Coon, subject or" the King of Sweden, residing at Christiania, Norway, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for the Production of Reactions in Gases in Closed Systems; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as -ill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the production of reactions in gases and has for its object a process by means of which the composition of the gas passing through the reaction compartment is maintained practically constant.

In the production of reaction in gases, Where the oxygen off air acts as an oxidant such for instance as is the case in furnaces for the combustion of nitrogen it is of ad vantage that the gas contained in the furnace richer in oxygen than the air of the atmos here. llhen oxygen 1s added to obtain this, the gases must he maintained circulating in a closed system between the furnaces and the apparatus in which the reaction products are separated off. This closed system is supplied with the quantities of gas,

which in the furnace enters into chemical combinations and thus disappear, because the reaction products are removed from the system.

A diliiculty connected with such processes consts in the drawbacks caused by the leaky condition of the plant. For various reasons it is suitable to work under a low pressure in greater parts of the system, and then diiiiculties are connected with discoverin; the leakages.

These conditions have been a hindrance to the practical use of the process.

According to the present invention the demand for a really tight furnace is waived, the process being carried out as if an unintentional entrance of air is an unavoidable feature of the process causing a slowly occurring change in the composition of the gas Specification ofLetters Patent.

son that undesi sl coinpone Application filed November 17, 1915. Serial lie.

mixture. 111' by this introduction of air there is not supplied a greater quantity of oxygen tha What is gndually consumed it will be sufficientfor the purpose of maintaining a constant relation between oxygen and nitrogen to supply oxygen only, The composition of: the circnlstir. gas will also cr in this case however be altered for thereants ot the air such for instance argon will gradually accumulate in the gas, so that a renewal of the circulating quantity of: gas will he neces sary. Usually la 0 1 quantity of air Will be sucked into the system than What corre: sponds to the qua of nitrogen consumed in the process. 11.. r the relative proportions of orygen ai nitioq en is still maintained constanthy the stpply of air, the volume of thecirculatin Will-increase and changes take place in the conditions of pressure in the systeni.- These disadvantages are a'i'oide-zl according to the present invention by continually or at suitable intervals removing such quantities of the circulating gas that the volume of this latter is maintained constant and so that the quantities of undesirable components do not exceed a certain limit. The which is removed from the system contains more oxygen than the air pill therefore with economical advantages employed instead of ordinary air for the prtaluction of the oxygen required for enriching For this purpose the u 't gas is treated to remove udrawn quantity of trom the same the the circulatin' l. q i {a gas injurious constituents and also the greater quantity of nitrogen whereupon the almost pure oxygen is again introduced into the system.

'l he treatnien t tain oxygen may he done in any Well known manner, for exarnole, by converting the gas into liquid contlit gen by fractional ilatiou.

The advantages nhteii'ied in this manner may be clearly undo itood from the following example;

In a furnace for the fixation oi air nitr0- is withdrawn gas to ob' i and obtaining the oxy gen only about of the whole qu ntity of air circulating will react in each cycle. It now 5% of atmospheric air enters the system through leakages the system will be supplied with .T9:3.957Z, of nitrogen and with, 5x021 1057; of oxygen in each. cycle. ()t' the gas mixture there is consumed for each i'nolccules of oxygen 2 molecules oi nitroge n owing to the well known fact that when the gas is absorbed in water, nitric acid is formed according to the following equation:

Provided that 2.5% of the gas mixture reacts N' 28 a 9 L= r :a, or: wSX Z S 2.0X s.5/ il o O 61% times as much oxygen as would have been the case if the system had been absolutely tight.

The costs of the production of oxygen depend to a large extent upon! the oxygen contents of the air or gas mixtuhe employed. It will pay to utilizethe 3.30% of oxygen which is taken out of the system together with the said 3.30% of nitrogen. 'By such a process the large advantage is obtained that the oxygen plant necessaty for an untight furnace system is not very much larger than the oxygen plant necessary for a com pletely tight system. \Vhen a circulation system working under pressure is employed then by and by the impuritiescontained in the entering gases will accumulate and effect a dilution of the reactinogases, whertjiy the output will decrease. I urthcr such impuri ties will effect a reduction of the output owing to injurious chemical reactions taking place. H 1

According to the present invention to prevent this a quantity of-air may he forced into the system from the outside of the same (said qn'antityotair corresponding to the quantity grain entering the systei'n .o pinco'l' gas containing ox through the leakages of the same) so that a suitable iniantity of gas may he removed from the system, which after having been freed from the injurious gases and the larger proportion of its nitrogen is again introduced into the circulation system under pressure. When the rich in oxygen which are removed from the system contain cheini cal compounds injurious to the process and which might have been produced during the process the said gases must of course be puritied before they introduced into the oxygen plant. 7

.1 claim.

1. A process for the production of reactions in gases in a closed systcn'i in which the gases circulate comprising the steps of introducing air into the system and with drawing from the system a portion of the circulating gas mixture from which the reaction products have been partly or wholly removed, utilizing the said portion of the gas mixture for the production of oxygen and introducing the oxygen so produced into the system.

2. Process for the production of reactions in gases in a closed system in which the gases circulate, comprising the steps of introducing air into the system and withdrawing from the system a, portion of the circulating gas mixture from which the reaction products have been partly or wholl removed, subjecting the said portion of the gas mix ture to a purification process and utilizing the resulting gas for the production of oxyen and introducin the oxygen so produced into the system. I

3. The process of producing oxids of ni trogen from atmospheric air, wherein a volume of gas contaii'iing oxygen and nitrogen is repeatedly caused to pass an electric arc in a closed circuit, comprising maintaining an excess of oxygen in the circulating gases by withdrawing from the circuit during circulation therein quantities of gas mixture, removing oxygen from the gas mixture taken from the circuit and returning said oxygen into the circuit.

4. The process of producinoxids of nitrogen from atmospheri air wherein a volume of gas containing oxygen and nitrogen is re eatedly caused to pass an electric arc in a continuous circuit having leakage thereto, which comprises removing quantities of gas from the circuit suliicicnt to maintain the volume of gases in said circuit substantially constant, separating oxygen from the gases so removed and returning the oxygen into the circuit.

The process of producing oxids of nitrogen from atmospheric air wherein a ol- "on and nitrogen 18 re ieatediy causedtopassan electric in eircuit, comprising maintaining a leakage M air into the eiri'uit and an oxygen content greater than is required for the reaction, and removing from the ('lI'Ullll, (luring the circulation of the gases. gasmixture rich in oxygen. and returning ox \'gen from the said removed gas mixture into the circi'iit.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing, witnesses.

' JFQS LASSEN LA (OUR Witnesses M. E. GU'rToRUKUN, C. FABRICIITS HANSEN. 

